Video Game Industry Convenes At Annual D.I.C.E. Summit And Awards Show

More than 25 Industry Luminaries – J.J. Abrams, Gabe Newell, David Cage and More -- Discuss the Future of Interactive Entertainment and Celebrate Achievements of Past Year

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The 2013 D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit kicks off today, marking the 12th anniversary of the video game industry's most prestigious and exclusive event. The annual event, produced by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) and Penske Media Corporation (PMC), draws some of the brightest and most influential interactive entertainment industry leaders and seeks to foster meaningful interaction and engagement among attendees in a collegial atmosphere. The summit continues through Feb. 8 at its new home, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas.

The 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit will also host the 16th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards ceremony on Thursday, Feb. 7. The peer-driven awards are a celebration of the best in interactive entertainment and represent the highest honors bestowed upon the interactive entertainment industry. Produced by AIAS and PMC/Variety, the Awards show will be streamed live on www.MachinimaLive.com at 7 p.m. PST / 10 p.m. EST. Self-proclaimed nerd and video game enthusiast Chris Hardwick, founder of Nerdist.com and host of his own Comedy Central stand-up special, AMC's Talking Dead, and newly announced BBC America's The Nerdist, will serve as this year's host.

The four-day conference includes 20 speaking and panel sessions covering industry trends that are pushing the boundaries of technology, creativity and artistic expression, and opening discussion on key challenges affecting developers, publishers and business leaders alike in 2013. Highlights from the keynotes and sessions will be available at http://youtube.com/entv; full sessions will be available on http://youtube.com/variety. This year's program includes:

J.J. Abrams, writer, director and producer, and opening keynote headlinerGabe Newell, president and co-founder of Valve Corporation, 2013 AIAS Hall of Fame inductee, and opening keynote headlinerDan Connors, CEO and co-founder of Telltale GamesGlen Schofield, co-founder and studio head of Sledgehammer Games David Cage, CEO of Quantic DreamRandy Pitchford, co-founder, owner and president of Gearbox SoftwarePhil Larsen, CMO of Halfbrick GamesDavid Edery, CEO of Spry FoxJulian Farrior, CEO of Backflip StudiosAmir Rao, studio director for Supergiant GamesXavier Poix, managing director of Ubisoft FranceJenova Chen, creative director and co-founder of thatgamecompanyJesse Schell, CEO of Shell Games and distinguished professor of the Practice of EntertainmentTechnology at Carnegie Mellon UniversityVictor Kislyi, CEO and founder of Wargaming.netDr. Ray Muzyka, CEO and founder of Threshold ImpactFeargus Urquhart, CEO of Obsidian EntertainmentKiki Wolfkill, executive producer at Microsoft Game Studios/343 Industries Frank O'Connor, franchise development director atMicrosoft Game Studios/343 Industries Warren Spector, veteran electronic game designer/producer Julie Uhrman, founder and CEO of OUYAMark Stern, president Original Content at Syfy Nick Beliaeff, vice president of production at Trion Worlds, Inc.Matt Lee Johnston, video game designer and producerRaj Talluri, senior vice president of product management of Qualcomm CDMA Technologies, Inc. David Ting, general manager of eSports at IGN Pro League (IPL)

"The D.I.C.E. Summit annually honors interactive entertainment culture and achievement in our rapidly changing global theater, while welcoming the leaders in our industry to openly share, collaborate and grow the art and business of our industry," said Martin Rae, president, Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. "The summit themes pay homage to the pillars for which this conference was founded - Design, Innovate, Communicate and Entertain - and this year's line-up of industry luminaries will tackle the topics shaping the future of interactive entertainment, including mobile development, transmedia storytelling, emerging technologies, and multiplatform development."

Summit Highlights:

Hall of Fame Inductee: Living video game legend, Gabe Newell, president and co-founder of Valve Corporation, will be the 17th inductee into the AIAS Hall of Fame. Recipients demonstrate the highest level of creativity and innovation, resulting in significant product influence on a scale that expands the scope of the industry. The AIAS Hall of Fame honor is annually bestowed on gamecreators who have been instrumental in the development of highly influential games and moving a particular genre forward, and Gabe's leadership in founding and managing Valve, creator of SourceTM game engine, Steam, and award-winning game franchises like Half-Life®, Counter StrikeTM, Left 4 DeadTM, PortalTM, and Team FortressTM have done much to push the interactive entertainment industry forward.

Pioneer Award Recipient: Infocom co-founders Dave Lebling and Marc Blank will be honored with the 2013 AIAS Pioneer Award, which is reserved for individuals whose career-spanning work has helped shape and define the interactive entertainment industry with the creation of a technological approach or the birth of a new genre. As innovators, storytellers, game designers and programmers, Lebling and Blank have inspired a generation of gamers and game designers over a broad spectrum of games and genres with their contributions to interactive fiction and text-based adventure games such as the Zork and Enchanter series.

The 16th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards at The Joint, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas. Showcasing the breadth and depth of an incredible year of gaming, 63 games representing console to web-based to mobile, are nominated for D.I.C.E. Awards, led by Journey with 11 nominations, including Game of the Year. The complete list of Awards categories, finalists, and game maker credits is available at: http://www.interactive.org/images/awards/16th-Annual-D.I.C.E.-Finalists-For-Web.pdf.

In addition to the conference sessions, multiple networking opportunities throughout each day, and the D.I.C.E. Awards, the AIAS will host several exclusive, annual activities during the summit:

The Academy Foundation Golf Tournament, sponsored by Behavior, will be held at noon on Tuesday, Feb. 5 at TPC Las Vegas Golf Club.

The D.I.C.E. Go-Karting Tournament, powered by Nexon America, will take place at the Pole Position Raceway in Las Vegas on the afternoon of Tuesday, Feb. 5.

The D.I.C.E. Red Rock Canyon Run/Hike will provide relief from the hustle and bustle of the Las Vegas Strip mid-afternoon on Tuesday, Feb. 5.

The D.I.C.E. Summit poker tournament sponsored by Intel will be held in the heart of the vibrant Hard Rock Hotel casino floor the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 5.

The D.I.C.E. Summit Welcome Party, sponsored by Turtle Beach, will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 6 at Vinyl Nightclub at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas.

The 16th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards After Party, hosted by Wargaming, will take place at Vanity, the upscale nightclub at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas.